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Take a tour of four iconic NYC structures that went from derelict to dazzling.
By MATTHEW PHENIX
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ome buildings are built to house works of art, and some are works of art themselves. Now, as one of Hawaii’s most treasured properties appears on the market, there is a chance to create the perfect mix of the two.
The Spalding House in Makiki Heights, located on the island of Oahu, has a long history in the aesthetic life of the islands, first as the private estate of one of Hawaii’s most celebrated arts patrons, and later as a museum in its own right. Since 1988, the property has been The Contemporary Museum, and since 2011 a part of the Honolulu Museum of Art. The historic hilltop annex is free again to become a one of the islands' grandest private homes — or whatever artistic vision overtakes the next owner.
SEARCH HAWAII
Find your place in paradise.
The house itself is a work of art, and a piece of Hawaii history.
Meditations on
a Masterpiece
BY INHABIT EDITORS
The epitome of artistic Hawaii, Honolulu’s treasured Spalding House offers the perfect palette for an imaginative buyer.
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There is space here for art and for living, and for those who make no distinction between the two. In its current state, there are five gallery spaces comprising more than 5,000 square feet, including a soaring two-story central gallery divided by a catwalk above. In addition to the galleries of the Spalding House itself, the estate includes auxiliary offices, a café, a classroom studio, a gift shop, and a residence for a museum director or estate caretaker. The building’s infrastructure — flexible enough for a gallery space and robust enough to host large gatherings — gives this magnificent property incredible flexibility as it enters the next phase of its life.
The house itself is a work of art, and a piece of Hawaii history. It was built in 1925 by Anna Rice Cooke, founder of the Honolulu Museum of Art. She commissioned one of Hawaii’s most famous and influential architects, Hart Wood, who had helped establish the Hawaiian Style of modern architecture — a distinctive aesthetic that embraced the islands’ cultural heritage rather than merely replicating colonial architecture. The Spalding House — so named after Cooke’s daughter Alice Spalding, who enlarged the estate in the 1950s with yet another celebrated architect, Vladimir Ossipoff, father of Hawaiian Modern style — is today a designated Historic Property, joining many Wood and Ossipoff designs as part of the islands’ architectural legacy.
The hillside gardens of the estate are among the most extraordinary on the island.
They were built beginning in 1928 by the Reverend K.I. Inagaki, who christened them Nu’umealani, or Heavenly Terraces. The sloping property has incredible views of Diamond Head, the lights of downtown Honolulu, and the blue of the Pacific Ocean — but the beauty underfoot is equally inspiring. The centerpiece of the gardens is a sprawling 80-year-old monkeypod tree, a canopy for an understory of rolling lawns and vibrant island flora. The pathways, bridges, and edging are of stone selected by Inagaki, placed to create gentle paths. Those stones also meander through a gully on the property, next to a designated historical Japanese botanical garden near the main house. The 3.4 acres have been refurbished and replenished frequently over the years and were celebrated internationally as the museum’s superb sculpture gardens.
It is tempting to call this listing a blank canvas, and to celebrate what is undeniably great potential, but that would be to diminish what is already a great work of art. As such, it is much better to consider the Spalding House as a masterpiece that has inspired a century of interpretations — and wait to see what grand influence it has on the future of Hawaii, and the world.
The sloping property has incredible views of Diamond Head
LEFT: Rooms boast panoramic views of the gardens and beyond.
RIGHT: The terrace, formerly part of the Spalding House Café.
ABOVE: Renderings — of the pool area and the great room — give a sense of the Spalding House's potential as a gracious modern home.
